A New Age
by Cisztroquov Spaenn
Summary: In the end, fire does not matter, neither does water. It doesn't come down to thunder or lightning, wind or rock. It isn't because of night or day, the moon and the sun. With the rise of the Olympians we entered the 5th age:The Age of the Demigods.
1. Prologue

In the end, fire does not matter, neither does water. It doesn't come down to thunder or lightning, wind or rock. It isn't because of night or day, the moon and the sun. But instead, because there is more to Planet Earth than the inorganic and that which lights it sky. The animals were the enzymes of the earth, they are the catalysts of change.

At the top of the stratification there are humans, and why? They are not stronger, they are not faster, the are not masters or stealth or agility. So how do they survive? They are clever, they are wise, they learn from one another, and their ability to adapt surpasses all other; for what other animal can adapt to survive on all seven continents, to move through the air, the sea and over the ground? What other can build and destroy? The answer is as simple as you might think...none, no other animal is such that it can accomplish all that homo sapiens have.

In order to fully understand this one must examine those among us who have the strength to drive us further, for with the rise of the Olympians we entered the 5th age: The Age of the Demigods.


	2. Dawn

**You notice that I have not updated anything in awhile, no? Well I could lie, or I could give you the real reasons... I don't get enough feedback to continue that story, for now... but that has no place here...**

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Chapter 1: Dawn

The rivers still flowed red with blood, the trees still regrowing from seedlings, and the sky was still clouded with smoke, dust and ash. But atop the highest peak, down beneath the lowest depression, and within the largest ocean, three brothers took there place in rule. Their sisters took their own places, at the King's side, by the edge of the hearth, and in the fallow fields, already yielding a new crop. Their children set about refilling a world devoid of peace and normality with just that. But as they wept for the lost, they knew that the gods themselves would not be enough next time, they needed a medium between themselves and humankind if the new peace was to be maintained. It was the dawn of a new age... an age that would last for millenniums for sure, but how many?

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10,000 years later...............

Circa 2000 BCE

Olympia, Greece: Mid-summer, Early morning...

The red hues playing off the bottom of the lowest clouds indicated the soon-to-be sunrise, and rumble of thunder in the distance did not bode well for the Olympic games that were to be held later that day. In fact, although only Zeus knew it, it did not bode well for a certain attender of the sacred celebration. Thanasis was an experiment that Zeus had grudgingly approved of at first, but had come to regret. He now wanted the "failure" terminated, and in the most dramatic, unarguably significant way possible. However, he was not the only divine being concerned with Thanasis' fate...

Although dark clouds hung dangerously low over the track where the chariot races were to be held (naked), not a soul seemed to be concerned. Today was the final competition between two rivals: the widely celebrated, for his many achievements, Serafeim, and the rising contender, who was participating for the first time, Thanasis. They had both competed in four events thus, the footrace (naked), archery (naked), wrestling (naked), and sword fighting (naked), with Serafeim triumphing in wrestling in a final showdown thriller and in the footrace, where Thanasis was hopelessly outmatched. On the other end, though, Thanasis had, to the surprise of the onlookers, destroyed all of his competition in sword fighting, and as expected, took the archery event too. Now it came down to the wire, a sudden death tiebreaker, that is, assuming one of them won...

The race began and Thanasis burst out to an early lead, while Serafeim's experience told him to pace his steeds. As they raced around the track Serafeim slowly regained position moving up from last place to ninth, then eighth, seventh, sixth, fifth, all the way to second with only two laps left. But, it seemed that Thanasis' horses would not tire, and the gap had kept growing. He was a quarter mile in front of the second place racer, which happened to be Serafeim, in the eighth lap out of ten. Just as he was about to begin his tenth lap around the half-mile track an unexpected twist came into play. The clouds opened up and it began to rain in sheets. As the dirt track quickly turned to mud Thanasis' well trained horses ended up with an even greater lead, and it looked as if even Serafeim would finish more than a lap behind him.

A few hundred meters short of the finish line Lord Zeus made his statement, firing a bolt of white hot lightning at Thanasis, killing him instantly and causing the chariot to burst into flame. Then, at the Son of Kronos' command Zephyrus mustered his west wind to send the chariot, burning occupant and all, into the unoccupied midfield, slamming top-first into a 250 year old willow tree. As the chariot burned and Thanasis' soul departed to the underworld, Serafeim finished the race well ahead of the others, completely unnoticed by all...

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Mount Olympus, Greece

Throne Room, Hades and Zeus

"How could you just kill my son, he is working out just fine!" Hades shouted, skipping anger and going straight to furious.

"...First of all, brother, you will not speak to me with disrespect-"

"I'll speak to you however I like!" The dark lord of death cut in.

"And, to answer you question, yes he _was_ a masterful sword fighter and _was _a champion archer, but, other than training his horses, the undead monsters they are, all he did _was _practice and he _had_ no intellect or any skills to be a go-between for us and humankind, he was a failure!"

"It's bad enough that you killed him, you don't need to talk as if he denounced us, or just you, or as though he died a century ago, he hasn't even crossed the Styx yet!" With that explosion of anger Hades disappeared into the shadows, presumably to conduct Thanasis to his palace immediately.

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**I know this seems vague, but I should have another chapter up tonight, or maybe tomorrow, (Who knows?) This really is a long chapter for having almost no plot, but they will be longer!**


	3. Success?

**Thank you to my 2 reviewers! One review per chapter? YEAH! (It's nearly as good as my 7:6 ratio on my other story!) Enough said... Oh and, to my 1st reviewer, the PM I sent you may turn out inaccurate...Sorry 8 ) STORY TIME!!!!**

**Question: Twigs and spheres and poles and plates, join and bind to reason make.  
What am I?**

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Part I: The Greeks

Chapter i: Success?

Experiment: Beta

Subject: Dionysus

Parentage: Zeus and Semele (Deceased)

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1500 B.C.E. June 14th

Vineyard, Outside of Marathon, Greece

The angry sun shone down upon the twisting vines, baking the lone man sitting among them. As the chariot of warming light reached it's peak, nearly directly overhead, the man stood, a large basket filled with the fruit of the earliest ripening, and left the fields and heading towards his dwelling. As he entered the stone shack behind his house the temperature change was immediate. A refreshing cool descended over Dionysus as he set the fruits of his labor down in order to duck under the low door and climb down the ladder leading to the cellar. There he found his soon to be gift to humanity...

He had wines stored from as many as five years ago, when he had stumbled upon a drink that could be made from the grapes in his vineyard, that was both pleasant at first but had a maddening backlash...drunkenness when consumption exceeded bodily tolerance. Still unsure of how man might take the outcast's gift he had kept it hidden knowledge to only himself and a select few that he could call allies, though not much more than that. But today was the day where everything would be unveiled, for better or for worse. Little did he know it, but his drink will be widely consumed in different variations by men, women, and occasionally children around the world. His impact on society will never rival the good of fire, nor the evil. Still, the legacy of Dionysus will last through ancient, and classical civilization, through the renaissance, through colonization, and into the modern era.

Dionysus, originally an outcast, for his father was presumed dead and his mother, found dead from combustion, was presumed to have offended the gods. Now, only days after its introduction, wine was being sped to all city-states within a weeks ride of Marathon. Athens was the first to receive it and their praises were sung throughout the land. In Marathon, merchants and farmers paid much in order to get the instructions to make the heavenly drink. For the first time in his life, Dionysus was celebrated instead of despised, and he enjoyed the treatment more than he could have ever imagined.

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Olympus, June 20th

Zeus and Hermes

"A success! Maybe it was just that Hades is incapable of producing a suitable child!" Zeus was elated with the developments of the past week. "Now to use this to my advantage..." He needed Hermes, and the sooner the better, "HERMES!"

"Yes, Father, you called?"

"I need you to bring my son, the winemaker, to Olympus, and fast, I want him to join us by the solstice tomorrow." Zeus, in all his glory, commanded.

But, Hermes, the ever curious, could not resist asking the question, "Is there a reason we reward this man, we did not reward the maker of the wheel, and you yourself killed the last demigod, Thanasis..."

"Do not speak his name!" Zeus thundered, "Dionysus is in a whole different class, he has the people on his side! He will be a great way to bring humans closer to us immortals!"

"But, he was originally an outcast, an unknown, like Th-...er... experiment alpha-" Hermes was trying to reason with Zeus but couldn't even

"Not in the same way!"

"And, not only will making him a god take away his ability to be a medium, but what happens when the wine craze dies down, or when the negative effects come into play?"

"Then he will be like the rest of us, with a good side, the delights wine, and a bad side, the madness brought about by it's abuse." Zeus seemed to forget that, as a god, Dionysus could not mingle with human kind, while collaborating with divinities, as he would be one himself.

"Your missing the point." Hermes made one last effort, but he knew the argument was lost

"And your wasting precious time. Now go!" Zeus countered waving his right hand as a gesture of dismissal. Hermes, knew that arguing was useless, and if he failed to get the son of Zeus and a mortal back in time he would be savagely punished. So strapping on his sandals, taking hold of his caduceus, and placing his hat on his head, he was off...

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Marathon Marketplace

Hermes, disguised as a herald from Athens, appeared just outside of the marketplace, where a festival and feast in the winemaker's honor was being held. Along with dancers, bards, and musicians, providing entertainment, great oxen and cattle were slow roasting on spits to be eaten as the sun set. Goatskins filled the brim with different wines were passed around, sampled by all. And in the middle, surrounded by men happily drinking to there hearts content, and then some, was the winemaker himself.

Dionysus, noticing the herald, regretfully excused himself and walked, as he was gradually becoming to plump to run, or even jog, over to Hermes and hailed him, "Greetings herald! From what great city have you been sent, no doubt to bring news of how great my creation is..."

Hermes, a little surprised at the "heroes" appearance and arrogance, quickly regained his composure and responded, "So you are the great Dionysus of which my master speaks, it's an honor. As for why I am here, I bring you news from my master, the lord of Athens, that he will be holding a great feast in your honor, on the day of the full moon, and would be honored if you would attend."

Dionysus pondered for a moment, and then responded, "I would be delighted to attend, I will go arrange for a chariot at once!"

But Hermes had that part covered, "Your transportation has been arranged, if you will follow me, we have a chariot waiting to take you to the great city of Athens herself."

"Why thank you!" And with that Hermes led Dionysus to a silver chariot, pulled by two fine looking horses, midnight black. After seeing the winemaker into the chariot, Hermes mounted it himself, and with a flick of the reins, the chariot took off...into the _air_. Dionysus was terrified, "What have I done to offend you, great deathless god? Since you must surely be one...Is my gift considered blasphemous?"

But Hermes chose that moment to reveal himself, and explain, "Father Zeus is not angry with you, winemaker. On the contrary, in fact. Zeus has decided that he wants his son to be made immortal, as a reward for his gift to man!"

Dionysus put two and two together and did not know which to be more surprised about, that he was Zeus' son, or he was to be made immortal. But Hermes wanted to give a background of more information, "You are part beta of the set of experiments testing the ability of demigods to be the hands of the Olympians... Zeus believes you to be a success, in fact Olympus as a whole does, but the way Zeus is _rewarding_ you is a _little _disputed to whether or not it is the correct decision."

"Oh..."

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Olympus, Summer Solstice

Throne Room, All immortals in attendance

"As a reward for your actions you shall hereby be known as Dionysus, God of Wine!" Zeus concluded the ceremony with those words, and all on the mountain applauded, some more reluctantly than others, Hera most reluctant of all...

"Father, if I may, I have one request." Dionysus' words surprised Zeus, but feeling the need to please the new god, he responded as such, "And what is the request, my son?"

"My mother, Semele," Hera scowled at the mention of the name, "Is it possible that she may be immortal, to stand beside me for eternity?"

Zeus, however, was glad that it was a request that could be easily granted and go, mostly, unopposed, "That I can do...HERMES!"

Hermes appeared by his father's side, "Yes, master of the sky?"

"I need you to go to the underworld and give Hades this order: He is to make the soul of Semele, mother of the winemaker, immortal and release her from the underworld, immediately."

"Yes, My Lord." And Hermes disappeared off to accomplish the task set before him...

Dionysus, a success on earth? Probably. Was the decision to make him a god in the best interest of humanity and gods alike? Arguable. And how will his relationship with humanity change over the centuries? Only time will tell...

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**Answer: A Skeleton.**

**So, how was it?**

**Please Review By Following The Link Below**


	4. Darkness

**A/N: Sorry for the lapse… hope this helps… (Please excuse any historical inaccuracies in the preceding and proceeding chapters)**

**CHARCTER NAMES:  
Garascus: "guh-RAY-skuss"  
Margone: "MARR-gohn"  
Jorgm: "YORR-gum"**

**My first is a creature whose breeding is unclear.  
My second, a price you must pay.  
My whole can be found in the river of Time and refers to events of today.  
What am I?**

**Bring Light to Thee,  
By Sea!**

Experiment: Codename "Math"  
Subject: N/A  
Parents: N/A

August 7th, 1000 B.C.E.  
Athens, Greece  
Oligarch Council 1900 Hours  
"Darkness"

Garascus, Council Head: "We need to address this matter immediately! We can't live in this darkness any longer!"

Margone, Oligarch: "But what can we do? We should wait a little longer, just until the winter solstice, and then we will worry about risky business!"

Garascus: "No! We've waited too long as it is, we need to recover from this crisis immediately!"

Jorgm: "But how? And who could do it"

Garascus: "How, you ask? That is a simple thing, trade!"

Margone: "Trade? We can't cross the land anymore, it is filled with dangers! How can we trade when we can't even traverse our own lands in safety?"

Garascus: "Stay your tongue Margone!" And I wasn't reffering to land-"

Margone: "Talk of maritime trade? Surely you jest!"

Garascus: "MARGONE! Do not interrupt me again or I will have you removed! And yes, seaborne trade is our only option! As to who I would send, I have the perfect candidate!"

**A/N: This is just the set up for the main portion of this segment, as the whole thing will likely span multiple chapters, please post your answer to the riddle in your review (Hint Hint). I will write the rest of this segment, but I want 8 total reviews before the rest is posted…I will not start the next segment until 10(if only one more chap. in seg.) to 15(if more than one more chap.) total reviews is reached!**

**(NOTE: THE ANSWER TO THE RIDDLE WILL BE IN THE NEXT CHAP TOO!)**


	5. Starboard Ship

**A/N: A note to those who see a lack of plot…The direction this is heading points to segments becoming longer and longer, having mini-plots so to speak, and the main plot is the development of demigod society up to the beginning of Rick's story, maybe even longer.**

**Also: Thanks for the reviews!**

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**Bring Light to Thee:  
By Sea!**

August 12th 1000 BCE 0700Hours  
Somewhere in the Mediterranean  
Command Trireme  
"Starboard Ship"

A deckhand mounted the stairs to the captain's cabin. When he arrived at the wooden door he, as he did every day, read the inscription: "Respect the sea, and she will reward, do not anger her, lest her wrath be felt." Then, raising his right hand, he rapped the door gently at first, but when an answer did not come, he increased the volume. At this point sound filtered through the door, "Who disturbs me in the earlier hours of the morn?" The deckhand responded, making sure his voice would penetrate the oaken door, "Drithe*, sir, the cook sent me to tell you that there is food and drink in dining hall for you to break your fast." The sound of feet hitting the floor came from the room, then distinct footsteps. The door opened to reveal a man of pride and mystery, Admiral Viethos*, a man of six and a half feet wrapped in muscle and scarred skin, with a face of bristles and age worn eyes, still sharp as ever. "Ah, Drithe, nice to see you so early, I was getting hungry. Thank you for bringing me this information, you are dismissed." Drithe threw his right hand in a quick salute, with his index finger outstretched and the rest curled into his palm. "Sir!"

August 12th 1000 BCE 1300Hours

Something had appeared on the horizon. At this news the captain of the ship that was nearest ordered his men to prepare for possible combat. Meanwhile the admiral had been aroused and, with Drithe in tow, was ordering his ships to bunch into a box formation and head east, slightly north of the apparition. As the gap closed between the fleet and the mysterious shape, it took on the shape of a rather large ship with an unfamiliar flag, which only led to the admiral getting more worked up, "Protect the trade ships, we must not lose their goods! All hands on deck, we have a possible pirate confrontation!" He proceeded to send Drithe off to the ship's quarters to task men to the ballistae, and to boarding defense. When Drithe returned Viethos' sword in hand, "Admiral, I have done as you have asked, the ships are prepared for combat." The admiral smiled, "So plan B is ready? That's good."

"Did you say plan…B?" Drithe was obviously confused, and the admiral noticed this confusion straight away. He decided to enlighten Drithe on a subject that he had not spoken of before, "Drithe, what I am going to tell you, in reference to Plan A, I have yet to tell another…"

"Sir?" Confusion was still obvious.

"I am not a normal mortal, as my father does not walk among men, but instead rules the vast seas and the creatures within"

"Poseidon?" The confusion was clearing, time to confirm and diminish it yet, "Aye" Viethos affirmed, glad that he wasn't working with an obtuse and dimwitted man.

"Your father…is…Poseidon?" Recognizing a break in confusion Viethos hurried to concur "It's nice to see your following me; you're not a dull blade, that's for sure." He continued, answering Drithe's original question, "Plan A involves me, as Poseidon, by fathering me, has granted me some power over water." Understanding dawned in Drithe's eyes, "So, you're going to try and sink their ship before any confrontation?" Viethos nodded, a light appearing in the back of his normally dull eyes, "You do catch on fast, and now that you know, feel free to watch the show. But be warned, and alert, if something goes wrong, defense may still be necessary." Taking it as a dismissal, Drithe threw up one final salute and a "Sir" and then moved to the prow to get a better view.

As the ships closed in a large ballistae on the prow, situated behind a spiked ram, became visible, as did the color a deep, rich red, with a slight tint of brown. Also, a large party of armed warriors stood, all watching, at ease but alert. Suddenly a flash from the front of the ballistae and the five bolt load was illuminated with an orange glow. With a resounding twang the weapon released its load in a low arc, heading straight for a ship, right next to the command trireme. Exclamations of awe at the range of the bolts was replaced by terror as they thudded into the hull and splintering the timbers. The orange glow was revealed to be fire as hot flames raced hungrily across the dry wood. Drithe, noticing the admiral was too focused on the water to even notice the burning vessel, ran up to Viethos shouting. "Admiral, the starboard ship is sinking; the starboard ship is going down!" Jarred by this revelation, Viethos took a glance at the ship just off the starboard rail of his own vessel and then turned back to the attacking ship a fire hotter than that which took one of his fleet burning in his eyes, "You may have taken some of us, but you have angered the sea, now feel it's wrath!" With these words a wave twice the height of the crow's nest on the command trireme rose from the depths and surged toward the black ship.

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**A/N: Well now that's out of the way and I can safely predict one more chapter for this segment.**

**Also, the answer to the riddle is…coming up in the next chapter!***

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter…can't wait to reveal the twist!**

**One more thing, I would appreciate less of the "I don't see a plot" kind of reviews, unless that is your honest and foremost opinion of the story, in which case, please say so!**

**Thanks, and until next time, The Youthful Sage signs out.**

***CHARACTERS:  
Drithe: DRYth  
Viethos: VEE-thohs  
Current: Answer**


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